The Nordoff and Robbins Northern Music Awards have announced the winner of the inaugural Industry Icon Award as Michael Adex, the man who helped to launch Aitch’s career.
The news comes as the shortlist for Inspirational Venue of the Year is also announced – featuring some iconic venues from Manchester as well as other cities and towns in the north of England – and as nominations for the Festival of the Year remain open.
Michael Adex, founder and CEO of Manchester-based talent management company NQ, is the first-ever winner in the Nordoff and Robbins Northern Music Awards, launched this year to champion the breadth of musical talent across the north of England.
The inaugural awards ceremony, supported by Ticketmaster, will take place right here in Manchester on 30 November, at Aviva Studios (formerly known as Factory International), before moving to a different northern city each year.
Melanie C has been announced to perform and to receive a Special Recognition award.
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The awards will raise money to help fund the opening of a new Nordoff and Robbins dedicated music therapy centre in Salford.
Awards categories range from Newcomer of the Year to Artist of the Year, Band of the Year, DJ of the Year, Maverick in Music, and Festival Of the Year (you can still nominate your favourite with The Manc here).
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Michael has been recognised for his tireless work to showcase emerging musical talent from the north, including, of course, Moston-born BRIT-award winning rapper Aitch.
NQ’s management, label, and publishing arms have surpassed three billion streams and eight platinum certifications since Michael founded the company from his bedroom in 2017.
He went on to create NQ Legacy, a not-for-profit helping young creatives from The North to explore careers in music and the creative arts sectors.
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Northern Music Award Industry Icon 2023 winner, Michael Adex, said: “It is a great feeling to be recognised by the Northern Music Awards as their first Industry Icon. There is so much amazing, diverse talent in the North and I’m proud that NQ is playing a part in letting the world know about it.
Michael Adex has received the inaugural Industry Icon award in the Northern Music Awards. Credit: SuppliedAitch. Credit: Publicity picture
“The North massively deserves to have its own awards show to highlight the rich heritage and wealth of musical creativity that comes from here. Nordoff and Robbins has created a long-term legacy with the Northern Music Awards to bring more music therapy to isolated communities, this is inspirational, and I am excited for their new centre to open in Salford.”
Nadra Shah, director of engagement and communications, Nordoff and Robbins said: “We are thrilled to honour Michael Adex for his enormous contribution to the success of so much thriving musical talent emerging from the North. Fundamental to the success of Michael’s artists – including the multi-award-winning Aitch – is their ability to connect with their audience.
“Our aim is to support and help to grow the eco system of Northern musicians whilst shining a light on the transformative work we do with music therapy, to connect with some of the region’s most isolated communities. We are immensely proud of the work we do in the North, next year we will be celebrating 20 years since we started delivering music therapy in Manchester.”
Also announced today is the shortlist for Inspirational Venue of the Year, across two different venue capacity categories, sponsored by Skiddle.
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Those nominated in Manchester include YES, Night & Day Cafe, and Band on the Wall.
Inspirational Venue of the Year (under 500)
Brundenell Social Club – Leeds
Future Yard – Birkenhead
Night and Day – Manchester
Trades – Hebden Bridge
Yes – Manchester
Inspirational Venue of the Year (Under 2,000)
Albert Hall – Manchester
Band on the Wall – Manchester
Barbican – York
City Hall – Newcastle
New Century Hall – Manchester
Jamie Scahill, head of marketing at Skiddle, said: “Skiddle is incredibly proud to be supporting the inaugural Northern Music Awards and sponsoring the Inspirational Venue of the Year award. The grassroots venues of the North deserve to be recognised as they underpin the Northern music scene and culture.
“Skiddle was conceived in an independent venue in Preston 22 years ago and we have been supporting them ever since. We are grateful that Nordoff and Robbins are coming up North and we look forward to working with them for years to come.”
Nordoff and Robbins will be sharing half of the proceeds from Skiddle’s sponsorship of these award categories with registered charity Music Venue Trust.
Beverley Whitrick, chief operating officer, Music Venue Trust said: “Music Venue Trust is delighted to see Nordoff and Robbins celebrate the vibrancy of the music scene in Northern England with these new awards. The inclusion of the Inspirational Venue category, which acknowledges the importance of grassroots music venues to artists and audiences, is wonderful to see and MVT is thrilled to have been invited to be part of this by Nordoff and Robbins.”
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The NMA judging panel has also selected 19 events for the Favourite Festival of the Year award shortlist, including Liverpool’s Sound City, Cheshire’s Blue Dot, Yorkshire’s Deer Shed, Stockport’s Moovin and Lancaster’s Highest Point, with the 20th to be decided by audiences from The Manc, The Hoot and The Sheff.
Premium tables for the awards themselves will be available to book in advance – to register your interest, please contact the Nordoff and Robbins team here.
Featured image: Supplied
Audio
Sarah Harding breast cancer study has helped save over 80 women
Thomas Melia
A life-saving study set in memory of Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding has seen her lasting legacy extend far beyond music, as now women across the country are getting cancer tests more frequentlythanks to the research.
Funded by The Christie, The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal began its first phase of the BCAN-RAY (Breast Cancer Risk Assessment in Younger Women) back in May 2023.
Led by Dr Sacha Howell, who was Harding’s consultant, the work explores risk factors and creates personalised early screening options for women as young as 30.
This is extremely important as currently women are only invited for routine breast screenings every three years from 50 onwards. Awareness and being proactive are just as important as research.
Sarah Harding, who passed away in 2021, has a dedicated mural in her hometown of Stockport.Credit: The Manc Group
The studies set up in Sarah‘s legacy are vital now more than ever as breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women aged 35-50 years in the UK.
These more frequent and routine checks from a younger age will be vital, especially since an estimated 10,000 women a year are diagnosed under 50.
The BCAN-RAY study has recruited 500 women aged between 30 and 39 years old, who have had their risk assessment appointments.
Out of this number – 404 patients have been given their risks – 316 as ‘average risk’ and 88 were found as ‘increased risk’.
88 were found as ‘increased risk’ with 58 of these receiving telephone calls to discuss further implications and discuss strategies to reduce this such as diet, exercise and medication.
So far 18 women have had their first mammogram, with no recalls or cancer identified. Following this, each woman is offered regular screening every year until their NHS breast screening starts at age 50.
Dr Sacha Howell commented, “We’re really confident that we have a system that is working, from the results so far, which is great news, these findings mean that we may be able to offer personalised ways to predict and prevent breast cancer more widely in the population in future”.
Girls Aloud featured a glorious tribute to Sarah Harding each night of the show.The lovely Sarah Harding singing to Manchester one last time.Credit: Audio North
In 2022, The Christie art and relaxation room received a wonderful makeover from proceeds raised at the Primrose Ball organised by Girls Aloud.
Within this room, visitors can find a lovely framed picture of Sarah Harding with the quote, “The darkest nights produce the brightest stars” and with all the work accomplished so far, we couldn’t agree more.
If you would like to show your support and help fund this life-changing research set up in Sarah’s legacy, you can donate HERE.
Music TV show Spill The Sound has announced a brand new series
Thomas Melia
Manchester-based music TV show, Spill The Sound, is back with its latest series filmed at The Yard, featuring plenty of exciting indie and alternative music faces.
Hosted by Louise Schofield and, Spill The Sound evokes the good old days of music TV shows incorporating styles from Popworld, Snub TV and Granada TV’s ‘So It Goes’.
The series itself is produced by Laura Graham of StreamGM, Greater Manchester’s multi-award streaming and media platform, who create and broadcast the show.
As an official partner with Audio North, this brand aims to spotlight creative voices across Greater Manchester and helped launch an industry careers podcast just last month.
Throughout March, the latest season of Spill The Sound (STS) will be bringing three episodes centred around some independent artists with very unique styles.
Listeners will be able to hear the likes of Andrew Cushin, The Guest List, Dirty Blonde and Megan Wyn, all of which have achieved incredible things while on the rise.
Another big get for the show is Andrew Cushin, who’s been mentored by none other than Noel Gallagher and already appeared on the bill as a supporting act for the likes of Paul Weller, Louis Tomlinson and many more.
Alt-rock duo Dirty Blonde are also featuring in this latest series and it’s no surprise either as they’ve already seen a buzz in the UK airwaves with praise from BBC Radio 1 and Radio X.
The latter of the newest lineup isn’t one to ignore either as Megan Wyn has been hailed as the ‘woman to watch’ by Clash Magazine and is set to support Alanis Morissette.
The Guest List playing hook-a-duck throughout their interview.Credit: Spill The Sound (supplied)
Every episode has been filmed at local music venue, The Yard Manchester, which provides the perfect space for these lighthearted interviews and spectacular pared-down performances.
This music platform has hosted and promoted lots of local talent including Antony Szmierek, Red Rum Club, The K’s, Hi Sienna and Seb Lowe, just to name a few.
The latest series of Spill The Sound kicks off with Andrew Cushin on Wednesday, 19 March with the remaining two episodes released in three-day instalments.
You can give it a watch when each episode goes live exclusively on StreamGM HERE or via the STS YouTube channel down below:
Daisy Jackson -
10th August 2023 
